Plasma processing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A plasma processing apparatus, comprising at least one sealed chamber ( 2 ), a vacuum device and working gas feed device in communication with the sealed chamber ( 2 ), and a plasma processing device and a garment support mechanism ( 5 ) arranged inside the sealed chamber ( 2 ); the plasma processing device comprises at least two parallel spaced electrode plates ( 41 ), and the garment support mechanism ( 5 ) comprises a support frame ( 51 ) provided between every two adjacent electrode plates ( 41 ) and used for supporting at least one garment ( 1 ) and fully opening the garment ( 1 ). The present plasma processing apparatus simultaneously plasma processes a plurality of garments ( 1 ) on a plurality of support frames ( 51 ); according to requirements, the necessary working gas is fed and imparts the garments ( 1 ) with different properties; the apparatus allows processing to be done in bulk, improves plasma garment processing speed, and is suitable for use in industrial processing.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates to a garment plasma treatment apparatus,and more particularly to a plasma treatment apparatus for batchtreatment of garments.

BACKGROUND

Recently, plasma treatment technology has been an advanced technology inthe textile industry. It can give a variety of fabric materialsdifferent properties and functions, such as fabrics, leather andflexibly thin-film fabric. The plasma treatment technology is based ongeneration of ionized gas inspired by electricity and composed ofdifferent electrons, ions and a variety of active particles, to interactwith the surface of fabrics to modify the properties of fabrics, thusgiving the fabrics various properties and functions such as reducedfelting, crease-resistance, hydrophobic, oil repellency, anti-pilling,etc. Various fabric materials, leather and flexibly thin-film aretreated with plasma to possess different properties and functions. Theplasma treatment process can also be served as pretreatment processwhich transforms the fabrics to become easily bonded with the innovativenano materials on its surface to achieve the special functions, such asUV-protection, antistatic, anti bacteria and so on. The process ofplasma treatment just has tiny surface action on the fabrics, which notonly brings different properties and functions to fabrics, but alsomaintains the originally good characteristic. The process is a dryprocess without requiring waste water treatment system or causing anyenvironmental pollution.

However, the plasma treatment technology is mostly applied to thetreatment of the fabrics in the textile industry, and there is no systemwhich applies the plasma treatment technology to an industry-scaletreatment for garments.

SUMMARY

A plasma treatment apparatus for batch treatment of garments isprovided, aiming at the above defects of the prior art.

According to one aspect, a garment plasma treatment apparatus isprovided, which comprising at least one sealed chamber, a vacuum deviceconnected with the sealed chamber for vacuumizing the sealed chamber anda working gas feed device for feeding a working gas to the sealedchamber, a plasma treatment device and a garment supporting mechanismprovided inside the sealed chamber, wherein the plasma treatment deviceincludes at least two electrode plates which are parallel spaced witheach other, the garment supporting mechanism includes a garmentsupporting frame provided between every two adjacent electrode platesfor supporting and fully unfolding at least one garment.

In the garment plasma treatment apparatus of the present application,the garment supporting mechanism further includes a movable car holderconnected to a bottom end of the garment supporting frames, wherein anopening via which the garment supporting mechanism moves into and outfrom the sealed chamber and a sealed door for opening and closing theopening are defined on one side face of the sealed chamber, the plasmatreatment device further includes an electrode frame positioned in thesealed chamber, the electrode frame includes four rod-shaped supportportions vertically supported at a bottom of the sealed chamber and aninstall portion defined on a topside of the sealed chamber andvertically connected to top ends of four support portions, the electrodeplates are vertically positioned, a top end of each electrode plate isfixed on the install portion respectively, one side of each electrodeplate is opposite arranged to the opening.

In the garment plasma treatment apparatus of the present application,the movable car holder is connected to at least one of the garmentsupporting frame, a bottom end of the electrode plate is higher than themovable car holder.

In the garment plasma treatment apparatus of the present application, aslide rail is provided at the bottom of the sealed chamber for themovable car holder to move along a direction parallel to the electrodeplate, wherein the direction garment supporting frame unfolding thegarments is parallel to the direction the movable car holder movesalong.

In the garment plasma treatment apparatus of the present application,the garment plasma treatment apparatus includes a stirring mechanismconnected to the movable car holder for moving the garment supportingmechanism along a direction parallel to the electrode plate, and acontrol device for controlling the vacuum device, the plasma treatmentdevice and the stirring mechanism.

In the garment plasma treatment apparatus of the present application,the stirring mechanism includes a back-and-forth stirring mechanism usedfor moving the garment supporting mechanism along a direction towardsand away from a space between the electrode plates, the back-and-forthstirring mechanism comprises a first driving unit, and a gear wheelarranged at the bottom of the sealed chamber and driven by the firstdriving unit, and a rack arranged on the movable car holder and engagedwith the gear wheel.

In the garment plasma treatment apparatus of the present application,the stirring mechanism includes an up-and-down stirring mechanismconnected to the slide rail for moving the garment supporting mechanismup-and-down, a rotation rod is arranged at both ends of the slide rail,respectively, one end of the rotation rod is articulated with the sliderail, and the other end of the rotation rod is articulated at the bottomof the sealed chamber, the slide rail is rotatably connected to thebottom of the sealed chamber via the rotation rod, the up-and-downstirring mechanism comprises a second driving unit and a cam providedunder the slide rail and driven by the second driving unit, a contour ofthe cam contacts with the slide rail, a rotation of the cam pushes theslide rail to rotate around the bottom of the sealed chamber.

In the garment plasma treatment apparatus of the present application,the vacuum device includes one main pump connected to the sealed chamberwith a 8×10⁻¹ Pa vacuum degree, and one preliminary pump connected tothe main pump with a 2×10² Pa vacuum degree, the vacuum device furtherincludes a pneumatic control valve arranged between the sealed chamberand the main pump.

In the garment plasma treatment apparatus of the present application,the garment plasma treatment apparatus includes a first sealed chamberand a second sealed chamber connected to the vacuum device respectively.

In the garment plasma treatment apparatus of the present application,the working gas is air, oxygen, nitrogen, argon or a mixed gas of argonand organic gas, the organic gas is organosilanes, hydrofluoroalkanes,organophosphorus compounds or gasified alkenes.

The garment plasma treatment apparatus of the present applicationcomprise at least one sealed chamber, a vacuum device connected with thesealed chamber for vacuumizing the sealed chamber and a working gas feeddevice for feeding a working gas to the sealed chamber, and a plasmatreatment device and a garment supporting mechanism provided inside thesealed chamber, wherein the plasma treatment device includes at leasttwo electrode plates which are parallel spaced with each other, thegarment supporting mechanism includes a garment supporting frameprovided between every two adjacent electrode plates for supporting andfully unfolding at least one garment.

The beneficial effects of the present application are as follow. Aplurality of electrode plates are provided in the sealed chamber, agarment supporting frame which is capable of supporting a plurality ofgarments is provided between every two adjacent electrode plates,respectively. The garments are fully unfolded by the garment supportingframe along the direction parallel to the electrode plate. The surfaceof the garment is completely extended and exposed between electrodeplates, such that various parts of the surface of the garment completelycontact with various gas particles. Under the sealed vacuumcircumstance, multiple electrode plates simultaneously implement plasmatreatments to a plurality of garments on a plurality of garmentsupporting frames. According to the requirement, different propertiescan be brought to garments with feeding working gas required. Such batchtreatment improves the plasma treatment speed of garments, and issuitable for industrialization treatment of garments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present application will be further described with reference to theaccompanying drawings and embodiments in the following, in theaccompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic drawing of a garment plasma treatmentapparatus in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the presentapplication.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic drawing of a garment plasma treatmentapparatus in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the presentapplication.

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic drawing of a garment supporting mechanismof the garment plasma treatment apparatus in accordance with a preferredembodiment of the present application.

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic drawing of a sealed chamber of thegarment plasma treatment apparatus in accordance with a preferredembodiment of the present application.

In the drawings,

1 a garment, 2 a sealed chamber, 5 a garment supporting mechanism, 7 acontrol device, 8 a pressure meter

21 a first sealed chamber, 22 a second sealed chamber, 23 a first sealeddoor, 24 a second sealed door

25 an opening, 26 a slide rail

31 a first preliminary pump, 32 a second preliminary pump, 33 a firstmain pump, 34 a second main pump

35 a first pneumatic control valve, 36 a second pneumatic control valve

41 an electrode plate, 43 a support portion, 44 an install portion

51 a garment supporting frame, 52 a movable car holder, 53 a rack

54 a support bar, 55 a hang bar, 56 a sleeve bar, 57 a hanger

61 a gear wheel, 62 a reversible motor, 63 a big rotatable wheel, 64 arotatable belt

65 a small rotatable wheel, 66 a rotation shaft, 67 a rotation shaftsealer

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

To make the technical characteristic, aim and effect of the presentapplication more clearly understood, now detailed description of thespecific implementation of the present application is described withreference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4, the garment plasma treatment apparatus inaccordance with a preferred embodiment of the present application,comprises at least one sealed chamber 2, a vacuum device for vacuumizingthe sealed chamber 2, and a working gas feed device (not shown in thedrawings) for feeding a working gas to the sealed chamber 2. A plasmatreatment device and a garment supporting mechanism 5 are providedinside the sealed chamber 2. The plasma treatment device includes atleast two electrode plates, which are parallel spaced with each other.The garment supporting mechanism 5 includes a garment supporting frame51 provided between every two adjacent electrode plates 41 forsupporting and fully unfolding at least one garment.

In the embodiment of the garment plasma treatment apparatus, the sealedchamber 2 is vacuumized by the vacuum device. After a certain vacuumdegree is achieved, the sealed chamber 2 is fed with necessary workinggas via the working gas feed device. The electrode plates 41 areconnected to the power supply, such that the electricity generated bythe electrode plates 41 excites the working gas to generate variousactive particles, which have reactions on the surface of the garment 1to modify the fabric properties of the garment 1, then the garment 1possesses some special properties and functions. Multiple electrodeplates 41 parallel spaced with each other are arranged in the sealedchamber 2. A garment supporting frame 51 is provided between every twoadjacent electrode plates 4, respectively. Each garment supporting frame51 can support a plurality of garments 1 which are fully unfolded by thegarment supporting frame 51 along the direction parallel to theelectrode plate 41. The surface of the garment 1 is completely extendedand exposed between the electrode plates 41, such that various parts ofthe surface of the garment 1 completely contact with various gasparticles. Under the sealed vacuum circumstance, multiple electrodeplates 41 simultaneously implement plasma treatments to a plurality ofgarments 1 on a plurality of garment supporting frames 51. Such batchtreatment improves the plasma treatment speed of the garments 1, and issuitable for industrialization treatment of garments 1.

Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the garment supportingmechanism 5 in the embodiment further includes a movable car holder 52connected to the bottom end of the garment supporting frames 51. Anopening 25 via which the garment supporting mechanism 5 moves into andout from the sealed chamber 2 and a sealed door for opening and closingthe opening 25 are defined on one side face of the sealed chamber 2. Theplasma treatment device further includes an electrode frame positionedin the sealed chamber 2. The electrode frame includes four rod-shapedsupport portions 43 vertically supported at the bottom of the sealedchamber 2 and an install portion 44 defined on the topside of the sealedchamber and vertically connected to the top end of the support portions43. The install portion 44 has a frame-typed configuration with at leasttwo beams positioned at its middle. The electrode plate 41 is verticallypositioned, the top end of which is fixed on the beam. One electrodeplate 41 is correspondingly mounted on each beam. The opening 25 on oneside of each electrode plate 41 is vertically defined. As many electrodeplates 41 as possible can be provided in a certain space of the sealedchamber 2, as only a space between adjacent electrode plates 41 which islarger enough for accepting the garments 1 and garment supporting frames51 should be guaranteed. Eleven electrode plates 41 are provided in theembodiment. The electrode plates 41 are positioned intensively. If thegarment supporting frames 51 are fixed between the electrode plates 41,the user can not support garments 1 on the garment supporting frames 51,therefore, a moving garment supporting frame 51 is needed, which movesthe garments 1 and garment supporting frames 51 into and out from thespace between electrode plates 41. A movable car holder 52 is providedat the bottom of the garment supporting frame 51. The garment supportingmechanism 5 is moved integrally. An opening 25 via which the garmentsupporting mechanism 5 moves into and out from the sealed chamber 2, isdefined on the sealed chamber 2, thus people outside of the sealedchamber 2 can support the garments 1 on the garment supporting frame 51,then push the garment supporting frame 51 supporting garments 1 acrossthe opening 25 of the sealed chamber 2 to get into the sealed chamber 2.One side of each electrode plate 41 in the sealed chamber 2 is oppositeto the opening 25, thus the channel formed between every adjacentelectrode plates 41 is opposite to the opening. After across the opening25, the garment supporting frame 51 is directly moved into the channelbetween electrode plates 41, then sealed door is closed to start theplasma treatment. Carriage wheels are provided at the bottom of supportportions 43 of the electrode frames in the embodiment, and enable theelectrode frames and electrode plates of the plasma treatment device tomove out of the sealed chamber 2. The sealed chamber 2 can also be usedfor other purposes.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the movable car holder 52 in the embodimentis connected to at least one garment supporting frame 51. The bottom endof the electrode plate 41 is higher than the movable car holder 52. Themovable car holder 52 moves at the bottom of the sealed chamber 2. Whena single movable car holder 52 is connected to the bottom end of eachgarment supporting frame 51, respectively, that is, a movable car holder52 is separately provided on a garment supporting frame 51 between everytwo adjacent electrode plates, respectively, the space between theelectrode plates 41 will be greater than the width of the movable carholder 52 to ensure the movable car holder 52 to run through. Meanwhile,the distance between the bottom end of electrode plates 41 and thebottom of the sealed chamber 2 is not limited. However, when a pluralityof garment supporting frames 51 are together connected to the samemovable car holder 52, the bottom end of electrode plate 41 verticallyarranged is suspended, there should be a certain distance between thebottom end of electrode plates 41 and the bottom of the sealed chamber2, so that the movable car holder 52 is not blocked by the bottom end ofelectrode plates 41 when moving at the bottom of the sealed chamber 2.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a slide rail 26 is provided at thebottom of the sealed chamber 2 in the embodiment for the movable carholder 52 to move along the direction parallel to the electrode plate41. The direction the garment supporting frame 51 unfolding the garments1 is parallel to the direction the movable car holder 52 moves along. Inthe embodiment, by means of the slide rail 26 arranged parallel to theelectrode plate 41, the movable car holder 52 is restricted to movebetween electrode plates 41 along the direction parallel to theelectrode plate 41, and would not contact with the electrode plates 41.At the same time, the direction along which the garment supporting frame51 unfolding the garment 1 is also parallel to the electrode plate 41.As a result, the fully unfolded garment 1 is opposite to the electrodeplate 41 totally. Such that the unfolded garment 1 contacts variousplasma gas particles generated in the maximum area.

As shown in FIG. 3, the garment supporting mechanism 5 of the presentembodiment includes a garment supporting frame 51 and a movable carholder 52. The garment supporting frame 51 includes two support bars 54arranged vertically, a hang bar 55 vertically connected to support bars,and at least two sleeve bars 56 connected to the support bars forsupporting the garment sleeve. The movable car holder 52 is connected tothe bottom end of two support bars, and at least one removable hanger 57is provided on the hang bar. The garment 1 is supported by the supportbar via following process. The hanger 57 is put into the skirt of thegarment 1, such that two shoulders of the garment 1 are supported byboth ends of the hanger 57, then the pothook is run through the neckbandof the garment 1. After that, the hanger 57 is hung on the hang bar 55,the pothook is vertical to the both ends of the hanger 57, thus thegarment 1 is hung on the hang bar 55 by the hanger 57, and is parallelto the hang bar 55 and the support bar 54. The garment 1 unfolded andput between the electrode plates 41 is also parallel to the direction ofthe electrode plates 41. Two cuffs of the garment 1 are respectivelysleeved to two sleeve bars 56, thus the sleeves are also stretched outfully. A plurality of hangers 27, and four or six or other even numbersof sleeve bars 56 are provided on the garment supporting frame 51 for aplurality of garments 1 simultaneously to be supported on the garmentsupporting frame 51.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the garment plasma treatment apparatus inthe embodiment further includes a stirring mechanism connected to themovable car holder 52 for moving the garment supporting mechanism 5along the direction parallel to the electrode plates 41, and a controldevice 7 for controlling the vacuum device, the plasma treatment deviceand the stirring mechanism. As the garments 1 are put into the sealedchamber 2 by the movable car holder 52 and the garment supporting frame51, the garments 1 always remain static during the plasma treatment. Inthe present embodiment, by arranging the stirring mechanism connected tothe movable car holder 52, the garment supporting frame 51 and thegarments 1 drove by the movable car holder 52 move up-and-down andback-and-forth. Various parts of the garment 1 can be evenly exposed tovarious gas particles during moving, such that those parts have the sameperformance and function.

The stirring mechanism in the embodiment includes a back-and-forthstirring mechanism for moving the garment supporting mechanism 5back-and-forth along the direction towards and away from a space of theelectrode plates 41, and an up-and-down stirring mechanism for movingthe garment supporting mechanism 5 up-and-down along the directionparallel to the direction of electrode plates 41.

As shown in FIG. 4, the back-and-forth stirring mechanism comprises afirst driving unit, and a gear wheel 61 arranged at the bottom of thesealed chamber 2 and driven by the first driving unit, and a rack 53arranged on the movable car holder 52 and engaged with the gear wheel61. The first driving unit includes a reversible motor 62. The gearwheel 61 can directly be mounted on the output shaft of the reversiblemotor 62, and also can be transmitted by a belt. In the presentembodiment, the first driving unit further includes a big rotatablewheel 63 mount on the output shaft of the reversible motor 62, a smallrotatable wheel 65 mounted on the rotation shaft 66 of the gear wheel61, and a rotation control belt 64 sleeved outside the big rotatablewheel 63 and the small rotatable wheel 65. The reversible motor 62 isconnected to the rotation shaft 66 of the gear wheel 61 by a belt, androtates the gear wheel 61. The first driving unit is provided outsidethe sealed chamber 2, one end of the rotation shaft 66 of the gear wheel61 connected to the gear wheel 61 is arranged at bottom of the sealedchamber 2, the other end of the rotation shaft 66 connected to the smallrotatable wheel 65 is arranged outside the sealed chamber 2. A rotationshaft sealer 67 is provided at where the rotation shaft 66 penetratesthrough the sealed chamber 2, thus keeping the sealed chamber 2 beingsealed.

The first driving unit is driven as follows. When the reversible motor62 rotates forward, the gear wheel 61 is driven to rotate forward, therack 53 engaged with the gear wheel 61 moves along one direction, sothat the movable car holder 52 is driven to move on the slide rail 26along the direction towards the space between the electrode plates 41.As the movable car holder 52 moves on the slide rail 26, the slide rail26 limits the movable car holder 52 to move along the direction parallelto the electrode plates 41. When the reversible motor 62 rotatesbackward, the movable car holder 52 is driven to move on the slide rail26 along the direction away from the space between the electrode plates41. The back-and forth reciprocating movement of the movable car holder52 along the direction towards and away from the space between theelectrode plates 41 is achieved by the reversible motor 62 via the gearwheel 61 and the rack 53.

The up-and-down stirring mechanism (not shown in the drawings) isconnected to the slide rail 26. A rotation rod is arranged at both endsof the slide rail 26, respectively. One end of the rotation rod isarticulated with the slide rail 26, and the other end of the rotationrod is articulated at the bottom of the sealed chamber 2. The slide rail26 is rotatably connected to the bottom of the sealed chamber 2 via therotation rod. The up-and-down stirring mechanism comprises a seconddriving unit provided under both ends of the slide rail 26 and a camarranged on the output shaft of the second driving unit. The contour ofthe cam contacts with the slide rail 26. The rotation of the cam pushesthe slide rail 26 to rotate around the bottom of the sealed chamber 2and move up-and-down. The second driving unit rotates the cam along afixed direction. During the rotation, the height of the output shaft ofthe second driving unit relative to the bottom of the sealed chamber 2remains fixed, that is the cam axis remains a fixed height. When thecurvature radius of the cam changes, the slide rail 26 and the rotationrod rotate around the bottom of sealed chamber 2. As the height of theslide rail 26 relative to the bottom of the sealed chamber 2 changes,the height of the movable car holder 52 on the slide rail 26 changesaccordingly, thus the garment 1 moves up-and-down relative to theelectrode plates 41.

The back-and-forth stirring mechanism and the up-and-down stirringmechanism in the embodiment work respectively. When the up-and-downstirring mechanism have finished its work, the slide rail 26 returns tothe original height, such that the rack 53 of the movable car holder 52on the slide rail 26 engages with the gear wheel 61 at the bottom of thesealed chamber 2 exactly.

The control device 7 in the embodiment is connected to the vacuumdevice, the plasma treatment device and the stirring mechanism,respectively. After the support frame supporting the garment 1 is in thesealed chamber 2, the control device 7 firstly turns on the vacuumdevice. After the necessary vacuum degree is achieved, the controldevice turns on the working gas feed device for feeding the working gas.Then the control device 7 turns on the power supply of electrode plates41 which implement the plasma treatment after being powered up. Duringthe treatment, the control device 7 turns on the stirring mechanismagain, the garment supporting frame 51 moves in the sealed chamber 2.After the treatment, the control device turns off the power supply ofthe stirring mechanism and the electrode plates 41.

The vacuum mechanism in the embodiment includes at least one main pumpconnected to the sealed chamber 2 with a 8×10⁻¹ Pa vacuum degree, atleast one preliminary pump connected to the main pump with a 2×10² Pavacuum degree, and a pneumatic control valve arranged between the sealedchamber 2 and the main pump. The plasma treatment demands high vacuumenvironment, so that the preliminary pump and the main pump are requiredto vacuumize the sealed chamber 2 in two stages so that the necessaryvacuum degree can be achieved. In the present embodiment, an environmentvacuum degree lower than 8×10⁻¹ Pa vacuum degree is required. At first,the pneumatic control valve is switched on. Then the preliminary pump isswitched on to vacuumize preliminarily. When the vacuum degree of thepreliminary vacuumizing achieves 2×10² Pa, the main pump is switched onto vacuumize mainly for obtaining a vacuum degree of 8×10⁻¹ Pa. Then thepneumatic control valve is turned off, and the vacuum degree in thesealed chamber 2 is maintained. After the plasma treatment in the sealedchamber 2, the pressure inside the sealed chamber 2 can also be releasedby the pneumatic control valve. In order to increase the vacuumizingpower and shorten vacuumizing time, multiple preliminary pumpsinterconnected to each other are adopted to implement the preliminaryvacuumizing simultaneously. Multiple main pumps interconnected to eachother are adopted to implement the main vacuumizing simultaneously.Wherein, one of the multiple main pumps is connected to the sealedchamber 2.

In the embodiment, the garment plasma treatment apparatus includes afirst sealed chamber 21, a second sealed chamber 22 and a control device7 for controlling the first sealed chamber 21 and the second sealedchamber 22 to work alternately. The first sealed chamber 21 and thesecond sealed chamber 22 are connected to the vacuum devicerespectively. The plasma treatment of the garment 1 in each sealedchamber 2 comprises several steps, which are supporting the garments 1on the garment supporting frame 51, vacuumizing by the vacuum device,powering up the electrode plates 41 for plasma treatment, releasing thepressure of the sealed chamber 2 after the treatment. Each step needs acertain treatment time. When the first sealed chamber 21 is vacuumizing,the treatment of the second sealed chamber 22 is in the preparativephase, in which phase the garment 1 is supported on the garmentsupporting frame 51. During the plasma treatment after the vacuumizingin the first sealed chamber 21, the second sealed chamber 22 can beready to be vacuumized as well. During the pressure release after theplasma treatment in the first sealed chamber 21, the second chamber 22implements the plasma treatment. In such a way, the first sealed chamber21 and the second sealed chamber 22 work alternately, thus shorteningthe processing time, speeding up the treatment of garments 1 andimproving the efficiency of production.

The first sealed chamber 21 and the second sealed chamber 22 can beconnected to two separate vacuum devices respectively. However, bothsealed chamber 2 can also be connected together to a same vacuum device.The vacuum device in the embodiment comprises a first main pump 33, asecond main pump 34, a first preliminary pump 31 and a secondpreliminary pump. The first main pump 33 is connected to the firstsealed chamber 21, and the second main pump 34 is connected to thesecond sealed chamber 22. The first main pump 33 is in communicationwith the second main pump 34 through pipelines. The first preliminarypump 31 and the second preliminary pump 32 are simultaneously connectedto the first main pump 33 and the second main pump 34 via connectedpipelines. A first pneumatic control valve 35 is provided between thefirst sealed chamber 21 and the first main pump 33, a second pneumaticcontrol valve 36 is provided between the second sealed chamber 22 andthe second main pump 34. When the first pneumatic control valve 35 isswitched on and the second pneumatic control valve 36 is switched off,both of the first preliminary pump 31 and the second preliminary pump 32are switched on to vacuumize the first sealed chamber 21 preliminarily.Once the vacuum degree of the preliminary vacuumizing achieves 2×10² Pa,the first main pump 33 and the second main pump 34 are switched on tovacuumize mainly, such that the vacuum degree achieves 8×10⁻¹ Pa.Therefore, the two preliminary pumps and two main pumps works at thesame time, respectively, so as to vacuumize the first sealed chamber 21or the second sealed chamber 22, and shorten the vacuumizing time.

A visible window is provided on the sealed door in the embodiment, sothat the glow of the plasma treatment within the sealed chamber 2 can beobserved through the visual window. Accordingly, the process of theplasma treatment can be understood and grasped. A pressure meter 8 isprovided in the sealed chamber 2 in the embodiment for measuring thereal-time vacuum degree.

The working gas in the present application is air, oxygen, nitrogen,argon or the mixed gas of the argon and organic gas, wherein the organicgas is organosilanes, hydrofluoroalkanes, organophosphorus compounds orgasified alkenes. According to functions the garment 1 requires,different working gases are adopted in the garment plasma treatmentapparatus of the present application. For example, if the garment 1requires an anti-pilling function, then air, oxygen, nitrogen or argoncan be adopted (argon is most preferable). If the garment 1 requires ahydrophobic function, then a mixed gas of the gasified organosilanes andargon can be adopted, whose ratio is 5:1. If the garment 1 requireshydrophobic and oil repellency functions, then a mixed gas of thegasified hydrofluoroalkanes and argon can be adopted. If the garment 1requires a fire resistance function, then a mixed gas of the gasifiedorganophosphorus compounds and argon can be adopted. If the garment 1requires an anti-static function, a mixed gas of the gasified alkenesand argon can be adopted.

Now detailed description of the treatment steps of the garment plasmatreatment apparatus for anti-pilling in the embodiment is as follows.

1) Eleven plate electrode plates 41 are provided in the first sealedchamber 21. A garment supporting frame 51 is arranged between everyadjacent electrode plates 4, respectively, so that there are ten garmentsupporting frames 51. Each garment supporting frame 51 can support twogarments 1 simultaneously, so that twenty garments 1 can be treated oncein the first sealed chamber 21. The bottom ends of the ten garmentsupporting frames 51 are connected to the same movable car holder 52.

2) The movable car holder 52 and the garment supporting frames 51supporting the garments 1 are pushed into the first sealed chamber 21,such that the rack 53 on the movable car holder 52 engages with the gearwheel 61 at the bottom of the first sealed chamber 21. The first sealeddoor 3 is closed, then the first pneumatic control valve 35 of the firstsealed chamber 21 is switched on, and the second pneumatic control valve36 of the second sealed chamber 22 is switched off.

3) The first preliminary pump 31 and the second preliminary pump 32 areswitched on by the control device 7. When the vacuum degree of the firstsealed chamber 21 achieves 2×10² Pa, the first preliminary pump 31 andthe second preliminary pump 32 are turned off by the control device 7,then the first main pump 33 and the second main pump 34 are switched onby the control device 7. When the vacuum degree of the first sealedchamber 21 achieves 8×10⁻¹ Pa, the first pneumatic control valve 35, thefirst main pump 33 and the second main pump 34 are turned off.

Meanwhile, the treatment of the second sealed chamber 22 is in thepreparative phase. The structure of the second sealed chamber 22 is sameas that of the first sealed chamber 21. Another batch of garments 1 issupported on the garment supporting frame 51 of the second sealedchamber 22.

4) Argon is fed into the first sealed chamber 21 by the working gas feeddevice of the first sealed chamber 21. After that, the vacuum degreeachieves about 10 Pa.

5) The back-and-forth stirring mechanism and the up-and-down stirringmechanism are switched on by the control device for moving the movablecar holder 52 back-and-forth or up-and-down along the direction parallelto the direction of electrode plates 41. The control device 7 controlstwo stirring mechanism to work for 10s each time, respectively.

6) The electrode plates 41 is powered up by the control device 7, andits current is adjusted to 20A-30A. The glow of the plasma treatment canbe observed within the sealed chamber 2 through the visual window. Atthe same time, the treatment time is controlled to 10 minutes, combiningwith the thickness of garments 1.

Meanwhile, the garment supporting frame 51 and the movable car holder 52of the second sealed chamber 22 are pushed into the second sealedchamber 21. The second sealed door 24 is closed, and the secondpneumatic control valve 36 is switched on. Then the first preliminarypump 31 and the second preliminary pump 32 are switched on by thecontrol device 7. When the vacuum degree in the second sealed chamber 22is about 2×10² Pa, the first preliminary pump 31 and the secondpreliminary pump 32 are turned off by the control device 7, then thefirst main pump 33 and the second main pump 34 are switched on by thecontrol device 7. When the vacuum degree in the second sealed chamber 22is about 8×10⁻¹ Pa, the second pneumatic control valve 36, the firstmain pump 33 and the second main pump 34 are turned off.

7) The electrode plate 41 is powered off, the back-and-forth stirringmechanism and the up-and-down stirring mechanism are turned off by thecontrol device 7. The first pneumatic control valve 35 in the firstsealed chamber 21 is switched on, via which the pressure in the sealedchamber 21 is released. After the pressure is released, the sealed doorof the first sealed chamber 21 is opened, the movable car holder 52 andthe garment supporting frame 51 are pushed out of the first sealedchamber 21. The treated garments 1 are taken off from the garmentsupporting frame 51.

Meanwhile, the second sealed chamber 22 is fed with working gas, thestirring mechanism is switched on and the electrode plate 41 is poweredup, then the garments 1 in the second sealed chamber 22 are plasmatreated.

As the garment 1 made from knitted fabric of animal wool (wool, forexample) has a layer of scale structure on its fabric structure proteinfiber surface, which scale structure results in the pilling of thegarments 1. After the plasma treatment according to the above steps, thepilling grade of garment 1 has been significantly improved, and theluster, color and strength of the fabric are not affected. Two sealedchambers 2 in the embodiment plasma treat the garments 1 alternately.Each sealed chamber 2 treats twenty garments 1 at one time, such thatthe production efficiency of plasma treatment for the garment 1 isgreatly improved.

The garment plasma treatment apparatus in the present application issuitable for various textile material garments 1, including the naturalfiber, hybrid fiber, knitted or woven synthetic fiber.

Above detailed description of the present application is described withreference to the accompanying drawings, however, the present applicationis not limit to the above specific implementation, which is justschematic, rather than restrictive. One skilled in the art can also makemany improvements with the enlightenment of the present applicationunder the circumstance not the purposes and the protecting scopedemanded by claims, and these improvements should be included within thescope of the present application.

1. A garment plasma treatment apparatus, comprising at least one sealedchamber (2), a vacuum device connected with the sealed chamber (2) forvacuumizing the sealed chamber (2) and a working gas feed device usedfor feeding the sealed chamber (2) working gas, and a plasma treatmentdevice and a garment supporting mechanism (5) provided inside the sealedchamber (2), wherein the plasma treatment device includes at least twoelectrode plates which are parallel spaced with each other, the garmentsupporting mechanism (5) includes a garment supporting frame (51)provided between every two adjacent electrode plates (41) for supportingand fully unfolding at least one garment (1).
 2. The garment plasmatreatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the garment supportingmechanism (5) further includes a movable car holder (52) connected to abottom end of the garment supporting frames (51), an opening (25) viawhich the garment supporting mechanism moves into and out from thesealed chamber (2) and a sealed door for opening and closing the opening(25) are defined on one side face of the sealed chamber (2), the plasmatreatment device further includes an electrode frame positioned in thesealed chamber (2), the electrode frame includes four rod-shaped supportportions (43) vertically supported at a bottom of the sealed chamber (2)and an install portion (44) defined on a topside of the sealed chamber(2) and vertically connected to top ends of the four support portions(43), the electrode plates (41) are vertically positioned, a top end ofeach electrode plate (41) is fixed on the install portion (44)respectively, one side of each electrode plate (41) is opposite arrangedto the opening (25).
 3. The garment plasma treatment apparatus accordingto claim 2, wherein the movable car holder (52) is connected to at leastone garment supporting frame (51), a bottom end of the electrode plate(41) is higher than the movable car holder (52).
 4. The garment plasmatreatment apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a slide rail (26) isprovided at the bottom of the sealed chamber (2) for the movable carholder (52) to move along a direction parallel to the electrode plate(41), wherein the direction garment supporting frame (51) unfolding thegarments (1) is parallel to the direction the movable car holder (52)moves along.
 5. The garment plasma treatment apparatus according toclaim 4, wherein the garment plasma treatment apparatus includes astirring mechanism connected to the movable car holder (52) for movingthe garment supporting mechanism (5) along a direction parallel to theelectrode plate (41), and a control device (7) for controlling thevacuum device, the plasma treatment device and the stirring mechanism.6. The garment plasma treatment apparatus according to claim 5, whereinthe stirring mechanism includes a back-and-forth stirring mechanism usedfor moving the garment supporting mechanism (5) along a directiontowards and away from a space between the electrode plates (41), theback-and-forth stirring mechanism comprises a first driving unit, and agear wheel (61) arranged at the bottom of the sealed chamber (2) anddriven by the first driving unit, and a rack (53) arranged on themovable car holder (52) and engaged with the gear wheel (61).
 7. Thegarment plasma treatment apparatus according to claim 5, wherein thestirring mechanism includes an up-and-down stirring mechanism connectedto the slide rail (26) for moving the garment supporting mechanism (5)up-and-down, a rotation rod is arranged at both ends of the slide rail(26), respectively, one end of the rotation rod is articulated with theslide rail (26), and the other end of the rotation rod is articulated atthe bottom of the sealed chamber (2), the slide rail (26) is rotatablyconnected to the bottom of the sealed chamber (2) via the rotation rod,the up-and-down stirring mechanism comprises a second driving unit and acam provided under the slide rail (26) and driven by the second drivingunit, a contour of the cam contacts with the slide rail (26), a rotationof the cam pushes the slide rail (26) to rotate around the bottom of thesealed chamber (2).
 8. The garment plasma treatment apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein the vacuum device includes one main pump connectedto the sealed chamber with a 8×10⁻¹ Pa vacuum degree, and onepreliminary pump connected to the main pump with a 2×10² Pa vacuumdegree, the vacuum device further includes a pneumatic control valvearranged between the sealed chamber (2) and the main pump.
 9. Thegarment plasma treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thegarment plasma treatment apparatus includes a first sealed chamber (21)and a second sealed chamber (22) connected to the vacuum devicerespectively.
 10. The garment plasma treatment apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the working gas is air, oxygen, nitrogen, argon or amixed gas of the argon and organic gas, wherein the organic gas isorganosilanes, hydrofluoroalkanes, organophosphorus compounds orgasified alkenes.